Ski binding



June 2, 1964 L. e. POWERS 3,135,525

SKI BINDING Filed Feb. 10,. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. LAURENCE 6. POWERS Z 4 fit! A TmRA/Eys L G. POWERS June 2, 1964 SKI BINDING f2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 10, 1961 J m F INVENTOR. LAURENCE 6. POWERS ,4 T TO/P/VEVS United States Patent 3,135,525 K1 BINDING Laurence G. Powers, Hayward, Califl, assignor to Whittiesey Powers, Ind, Hayward, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Feb. 19, 1%1, Ser. No. 88,357 2 Claims. (Cl. 230-1135) This invention relates to skis and ski bindings and more specifically to means for adjustably mounting a component of ski bindings on a ski so that the bindings may be adjusted for ski boots of different sizes.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide adjustable mounting means for a component of ski bindings whereby said component can be moved longitudinally of the ski and secured to the ski in a plurality of longitudinally spaced positions thereon.

It is another object of the invention to provide such adjustable mounting means which may be permanently attached to a ski and permit easy adjustment of the ski bindings without permitting any of the components of the bindings from being detached from the ski.

It is another object of the invention to provide such adjustable mounting means which will function efficiently even when quantities of snow and ice have accumulated on the skis.

It is another object of the invention to provide such adjustable mounting means which include a tensioning latch for applying tension to a resilient cable which forms one component of the ski binding and in which the distance by which the latch shortens the cable when applying tension thereto is correlated to the distance between adjacent secured positions of the adjustable mounting means so that the ski binding may be accommodated to ski boots of different sizes with as little manipulation as possible.

It is another object of the invention to provide a ski having adjustable ski boot binding means permanently mounted thereon in which toe and heel ski binding members can be supported on the ski at a plurality of different positions thereon With respect to each other.

It is another object of the invention to provide a ski with heel and toe ski boot binding members where the heel binding member is a resilient cable and in which the two binding members are adjustably mounted with respect to each other and the resiliency of the cable is utilized to maintain the binding members in any chosen relative position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a ski constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of a portion of the ski of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the ski of FIGS. 1 and 2 taken along the plane indicated at 3-3 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating an alternative form of adjustable mounting means constructed in accordance with this invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and particularly to H65. 1 to 3, a ski is provided with a suitable toe binding member 12 rigidly attached to the top surface of the ski. The particular form of toe binding member forms no part of this invention; the toe binding member 12 is illustrated as being a cup-shaped member in which the toe of the ski boot is received, but the member 12 is desirably replaced by any one of a number of safety bindings which permit the toe of a ski boot to be moved transversely of the ski when subject to predetermined transverse forces.

The ski boot heel binding member is a resilient cable 14 having a curved portion thereof covered by a section of rubber tubing 16 which is adapted to embrace a suitable groove in the heel of a ski boot. One end of the cable 14 is attached to a turn buckle 18 by which fine adjustment in the length of the cable may be eflfected,

and the other end of the cable 14 is attached to a cable tensioning latch 20 arranged as indicated to effect a predetermined change in the length of the cable 14.

The turn buckle l8 and latch 29 are attached to rings 22 which in turn are attached to a metal plate 24 by loops 26 welded to the plate 24. The plate 24 overlies a portion of the top surface of the ski in and carries a pair of side flanges 28 thereon which extend along the sides of the ski. As best illustrated in FIG. 2, a bounded aperture is provided in each of the flanges 28, the term bounded being employed to indicate that the aperture in each of the flanges 28 has a continuous closed boundary extending around it in the plane of the flange 28. The aperture in the flange 28 has a plurality of transverse generally L-shaped portions 30 which are inclined to the top surface of the plate 24 and which are equally spaced from each other longitudinally of the ski. The aperture also contains an elongated portion 32 connecting all of the transverse portions 30. The L-shaped portions 31) of the apertures are preferably inclined to the plane of the top surface of the ski by an angle of about eighty-five degrees as illustrated in FIG. 2.

As best illustrated in FIG. 3, a pair of pins 34 extend transversely through the ski and protrude into the apertures in the two flanges 28. Each pin 34 has a head 36 on one end thereof and a cap screw 38 on the other end thereof. Each of the pins 34 has a diameter slightly less than the width of each of the portions 3t and 32 of the apertures in the flanges 23 thereby permitting the plate 24 and the flange 23 to be moved longitudinally of the ski and latched in a plurality of longitudinally spaced positions with the pins 34 received in dilierent transverse portions 39 of the apertures. This movement of the plane and ski with respect to each other is indicated by the arrows 39 in FIG. 2. In some situations it may be desirable ot employ simple wood screws or the like in place of the pins 3 a pair of wood screws being employed in lieu of each of the pins 34.

It should be noted that the distance between adjacent transverse portions 3% of the apertures in the flanges 28 is preferably slightly less than the distance by which the latch 20 moves the heel grasping portion 16 of the cable 14 when the latch 20 is moved from its unlatched position to its latched position. That is, with the particular type of latch shown, the distance between adjacent portions 39 of the apertures is preferably slightly less than the distance between the pivot points 42 in the latch 20 (see FIG. 4). This correlation between distances insures that at least one position of the plate 24 on the ski can be found for each ski boot at which the latch 20 may be closed to apply tension to the cable 14 without adjusting the turn buckle 18.

In the modified form of my invention illustrated in FIG. 4, all of the elements are substantially identical to the elements shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 with the exception that a plurality of apertures 40 and 44 are provided in plate 24 to facilitate adjustment of the position of the plate 24 on the ski when the top surface of the ski contains quantities of snow and ice.

Obviously many modifications in the construction and arrangement of parts illustrated may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A ski comprising an elongated body having a forward tip, top and bottom surfaces and generally parallel side surfaces therebetween, a ski boot toe binding member mounted on said top surface of said body, an anchor plate overlying the top surface of said body and having opposed side flanges extending over said side surfaces of said body, each of said flanges having a bounded aperture therethrough with each aperture having an elongated portion generally parallel to said top surface and a plurality of generally L-shaped portions extending from said elongated portion toward said top surface, said L-shaped portions being equally spaced apart along the length of said elongated portion and extending toward said forward tip, anchor pin means mounted in said body and having pin portions extending from the side surfaces of said body and through said bounded apertures, and a heel binding member attached to said anchor plate, said heel binding member comprising a heel engaging portion, with its concave side facing toward said toe binding member and said plate, means for resiliently attaching said heel engaging portion to said plate including a clamp movable from an unlatched position to a latched position to thereby move said heel engaging portion toward said toe binding member by a distance which is greater than the distance between said L-shaped apertures.

2. An adjustable mounting member for ski boot bindings comprising an anchor plate adapted to overlie the top surface of a ski and having a pair of side flanges extending therefrom and adapted to overlie the side surfaces of a ski, each of said flanges having a bounded aperture therein adapted to receive an anchor pin extending therethrough and secured in the side of said ski, said bounded aperture having an elongated portion thereof extending generally parallel to said plate and a plurality of lateral portions thereof extending from said elongated portion and inclined toward said plate, and ski boot binding attachment means secured to said plate for engaging one end only of a ski boot with said attachment means including a tensioning clamp attached to said plate at one end thereof and attached at its other end to resilient ski boot gripping means, said clamp being movable between latched and unlatched positions to thereby change the distance between its ends by a distance at least twice as great as the distance between adjacent lateral portions of said apertures.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,196,925 Kairis Apr. 9, 1940 2,199,444 Rauglas May 7, 1940 2,216,662 Eigenheer Oct. 1, 1940 2,625,229 Van Voorhees Jan. 13, 1953 2,818,587 Bridges Jan. 7, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 62,288 Norway Apr. 1, 1940 78,143 Norway Feb. 19, 1951 144,661 Sweden Mar. 23, 1954 

1. A SKI COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BODY HAVING A FORWARD TIP, TOP AND BOTTOM SURFACES AND GENERALLY PARALLEL SIDE SURFACES THEREBETWEEN, A SKI BOOT TOE BINDING MEMBER MOUNTED ON SAID TOP SURFACE OF SAID BODY, AN ANCHOR PLATE OVERLYING THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID BODY AND HAVING OPPOSED SIDE FLANGES EXTENDING OVER SAID SIDE SURFACES OF SAID BODY, EACH OF SAID FLANGES HAVING A BOUNDED APERTURE THERETHROUGH WITH EACH APERTURE HAVING AN ELONGATED PORTION GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID TOP SURFACE AND A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY L-SHAPED PORTIONS EXTENDING FROM SAID ELONGATED PORTION TOWARD SAID TOP SURFACE, SAID L-SHAPED PORTIONS BEING EQUALLY SPACED APART ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID ELONGATED PORTION AND EXTENDING TOWARD SAID FORWARD TIP, ANCHOR PIN MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID BODY AND HAVING PIN PORTIONS EXTENDING FROM THE SIDE SURFACES OF SAID BODY AND THROUGH SAID BOUNDED APERTURES, AND A HEEL BINDING MEMBER ATTACHED TO SAID ANCHOR PLATE, SAID HEEL BINDING MEMBER COMPRISING A HEEL ENGAGING PORTION, WITH ITS CONCAVE SIDE FACING TOWARD SAID TOE BINDING MEMBER AND SAID PLATE, MEANS FOR RESILIENTLY ATTACHING SAID HEEL ENGAGING PORTION TO SAID PLATE INCLUDING A CLAMP MOVABLE FROM AN UNLATCHED POSITION TO A LATCHED POSITION TO THEREBY MOVE SAID HEEL ENGAGING PORTION TOWARD SAID TOE BINDING MEMBER BY A DISTANCE WHICH IS GREATER THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID L-SHAPED APERTURES. 